But it turned out to be a scam, masterminded by U.S. luger Kate Hansen and late-show host Jimmy Kimmel. The prank -- a video of a wolf that supposedly was prowling Hansen's Olympics dorm in Sochi -- went viral and caused a terrific stir.

But on Thursday, Hansen appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live via a Skype from Russia, and the two explained how they fooled the world: Armed with a photo from Hansen of the hallway outside her dorm room, Kimmel had his set designers recreate a life-sized replica of the Sochi dorm in his studio.

Then, with cameras running, he let a real Timber Wolf mix (named Rugby) run through the fake hallway.

While amusing, the prank created a security stir.

“Honestly, there was a little more backlash than I thought there’d be,” Hansen said. She added: “Security started freaking out, because technically there was a breach. You know, athlete safety. It kind of went a little crazy over here.”